Folding machine



C. H. JONES.

FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man NOV. 16'; ms.-

Patented May 16, 1922.

UNITED STATES rarest OFFICE.

CHARLES H. JONES, OF MOOBESTOWN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO 1?. R. GLASS COMPANY, OF BOSTON. MA$SACHUSIETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

FOLDING MACHINE.

Application filed November 16, 1918.

To all whom if M ay concern:

Be it known that T, CHARLns H. JONES, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Moorestown, in the county of Burlington and State of New Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Folding Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to folding machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine of the general type commonly used in folding the margins of parts of the uppers of boots and shoes.

There is a considerable demand for ma chines of this general type but adapted to perform the folding operation on material which is to be made up into foot-balls, pocketbooks and other miscellaneous articles.

For example, in the manufacture of footballs, before the leather sections are assemr bled, each section has attached to it a fabric lining which is of greater extent than the section and the margin of which projects beyond the edge of the section. This projecting margin is then folded back upon and cemented to the body of the fabric, the width of the fold being such that the fold line is spaced more or less from the edge of the leather section. Again, in the manufacture of certain kinds of pocketbooks, it is customary to cement to a piece of cardboard or other stifl material a thinpiece of ornamental. leather of greater extent than the cardboard and then to fold the projecting man of the leather over the edge of the cardboard. I In both the'cases referred to above the workconsists of two pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the margin of the more flexible material projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material; and the genera] object of the present invention is to provide a machine which will perform the folding operation in these and similar cases.

According to one feature of the invention there is provided a combined edge gage and bending member for guiding the work in accordance with the edge of the less flexible material and for forming a preliminary bend in the margin of the more flexible material in combination with a creaser which engages Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 16, 1922.

Serial No. 262,857.

the work near the point at which it contacts with the gage and bending member. In the illustrative machine the creaser is mounted on the gage and bending member and is adjustable'in two directions to provide for work of different thickness and to vary the location of the fold line.

These and other features of the invention will be described in connection with an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Beferring to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective of a portion of a machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a section of the same portion showing a piece of work being operated upon;

Fig. 3 is a perspective similar to Fig. 1 but showing a piece of work different from that shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of a portion of the work folded as indicated in Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective of a portion of the work folded as indicated in Fig. 3.

The invention has been illustrated as embodied in a machine of the general type shown and described in the patent to Glass No. 1,270,753. 7 As in that machine, the work is fed intermittently over a table or support 7 by a fold-presser or hammer 9 and anvil 11 which latter members serve also to press the fold. The anvil 11 moves back and forth in a slot in the table. The hammer has a four-motion movement, first descending upon the work to press it upon the anvil, then moving in unison withthe anvil rearwardly to feed the work, then rising, and finally returning with the anvil to its original forward position which is the one shown in Fig. 1. A folder in the form of a finger 13 operates in advance of the hammer and anvil and by reciprocating in an inclined path progressively forms a fold in the margin of the work. While the hammer and anvil are returning to the positions shown preparatory to imparting to the work another feeding movement, the work is held between a creaser 15 and a block 17 the block being thereafter lowered to permit the feed movement. With the exception of the shape of the creaser and the manner in which it is mounted, the parts thus far described and the mechanisms for operating the hammer, the anvil, the folding finger and the block may be like those of the pat entcd machine and no further description of them will be given.

The patented machine is designed to fold the margin of a piece of flexible material such as upper leather, the edge of the mate rial being utilized to guide the material through the machine. The present machine, however, is adapted to handle work which consists of pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the nature of the work being such that the comparatively stiff edge of the less flexible material must be utilized to guide the work.

In order to guide the work in accordance with the outline of the edge of the less flexible material and at the same time to make a preliminary upward bend in the margin of the more flexible material, there is provided a combined edge gage and bending member 19 in the form of a block having a plane face 190 and a rounded corner 191, saidcorner being presented to the (in-coming work. Slidable on the block 19 in a direction transverse to the direction of feed movement of the work is a frame 21 between two upright walls of which the stem of the creaser passes. This stem is perforated in two places. The left-hand perforation receives the upper rounded end of a pivotal support 23 the base of which is rectangular and fits between the walls of the frame 21. A screw 25, having a head which rests upon the block 19 and is located between the up per surface of the block and the under surface'of the left-hand end of the frame 21, is threaded through the pivotal support 23 and is provided with a nurled head 27 by which it may be turned. Inasmuch as the pivotal support 23 is held from angular movement by the engagement of its rectangular base with the walls of the frame 21, turning the screw serves to raise or lower the support. A coiled spring 29, which encircles the screw 25, bears at its lower end against the creaser 15 and at its upper end nst a thumb-nut 31 threaded on the screw The creaser is thus held against the pivotal support yieldingly with a force which may be varied The tail of the creaser 15 is normally held up against a stop 33 in the form of a pin mounted in the upright walls of the frame 21 by a coiled spring 35 This spring bears against the under side of the tail of the creaser and is coiled around the stem of screw 37 and supported by a square nut 39 threaded on the end of the screw. The nut is held from angular movement by the engagement of one of its flat sides with an adjacent vertical wall on a part of the frame 21; and the screw is held from downwardmovement by the engagement of a collar 41 on the head thereof with the. tops of the upright walls of the frame. Consequently by turning the screw the tension of the spring may be varied. As has been stated, the frame 21, is adjustable on the block 19 in a direction transverse to the direction of feed movement of the work. In order to provide means for making this adjustment, a screw el-F'l loosely mounted in an upstanding ear at the right-hand end of the block 19 threaded into a lug on the frame 521, the screw being held from longitudinal movement in one direction by a collar 15 pinned to the screw, and from similar movement in the other direction by a collar on the head of the screw. The extent of the adjustment of the frame 21 is limited by a screw 47 which is carried by the frame 21 and extends through a slot 49 in the block. The block itself is adjustably secured to the table 7 by a screw 51 the stem of which passes through a slot 53 in a horizontally extending ear formed on the block.

Attention is directed to the shape of the creaser and to its relative position with respect to the block 19 and folder 1 3. The operative portion of the creaser is comparatively wide, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and is in operative relation both to the face 190 of the block 19 and to the folder 153. The creaser is held down upon the work by the action of the spring 35 and is limited in its downward movement by the pin 33. The limit of its downward movement to provide for different thicknesses of stock may, however, be varied by turning the screw 25 to raise or lower the pivotal support 23.

Referring to 2 and 4:, there is shown piece of work con'iprising two pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility. Before the folding; operation thc mai'gin of the more flexible material projected beyond the edge of the less flexible material 200. In the parts which are used to make foot-balls, the less flexible material 200 is comparatively heavy leather and the more flexible material is fabric; the requirement being to fold the margin of the fabric over upon the body portion thereof with the line of the fold spaced somewhat from the edge of the lea her. To accomplish this result the m rgin of the fabric having been coated with cement, the wort: is inserted in the m2.- chine with the edge of the leading portion of the leather a 'ainst the face 190 of the block the margin of the leading portion of the fabric resting against said face and against the rounded corner 191. As the work is fed forward it is guided by the stiff edge of the leather 200. At the same time the bloclr imparts a preliminary upward bend to the margin of the fabric. The folder rises obliquely at the proper time to increase this bend by turning the margin over the edge of the cre'aser to form the fold as shown in Fig. 2; and thereafter the presser 9 presses the fold. There is thus a progressive forming of a preliminary bend in the margin of the fabric, an increasing of the bend to form a. fold and a pressing of the fold, the margin of the fabric being folded down on the body portion of itself, the distance of the line of the folded fabric from the edge of the leather being determined by the position of the creaser with respect to the block.

Referring now to Figs. and 5, there is shown a piece of work similar to that shown in Figs, 2 and l in that it consists of two pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility. In this case, however, the less flexible material 300 is commonly a piece of cardboard and the more flexible material 400 a piece of limp leather, the problem being to fold the leather over the edge of the cardboard. The mode of operation in this case is similar to that described in connection with Figs. 2 and t except that the creaser is adjusted so that its operative edge substantially coincides with the edge of the cardboard, and the edge of the cardboarl does not contact with the block 19. The side-thrust of the cardboard during the feed ing movement is, however, taken by the block so that the direction of feed move ment of the work is controlled by the outline of the edge of the cardboard. In both cases 2 and 3) the creaser holds the material down flat upon the supporting table close to the base of the face of the block 19.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied is a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility the margin of the more flexible material. projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible ma terial, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed, means for folding the margin of the more flexible material over upon the body portion thereof, means for determining the line of the fold, said means i being adjustable to vary the dis once of the fold line from the edge of the less flexible material, and means for pressing the fold.

2. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility. the margin of the more flexible material projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed, means for folding the margin of the more flexible material over upon the body portion thereof, means for spacing the line of fold from the edge of the less flexible material, and means for pressing the fold.

A. machine for operating upon a piece of work i lcli comprises pieces of material of iilitlerent degrees of flexibility. the more flexible material being superposed on the less flexible material and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed with the less flexible material in contact with said support, a substantially planefaced gage for engaging the edge of the less flexible material to guide the work, and means including a rounded corner on that part of the gage which first encounters the oncoming work for folding the projecting margin of the more flexible material over upon the body portion of itself.

4. A machine for operating upon piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material being superposed on the less flexible material, and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed with the less flexible material in contact with said sup port, a substantially plane-faced ga e for engaging the edge of the less flexible ma terial to guide the work, a creaser for determining the location of the fold line, and means including a rounded corner on that part of the gage which first encounters the oil-coming work for folding the projecting margin of the more flexible material over upon the body portion of itself.

A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material being superposed on the less flexible material and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material. having in combination, a support over which the work is fed with the less flexible material in contact with said support, for engaging the edge of the less flexible material to guide the work. a creaser for determining the location of the fold line, means whereby said creaser may be adjusted to space said fold line more or less from the edge of the less flexible terial, and means for folding the project of the more flexible material .131 upon the body portion of itself.

machii'ie for operating upon piece o. of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material. being superposed on the less flexible material and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed, a combined edge gage and bending member. said gage and bending member having a substantially plane face for guiding the work and a rounded corner for forming a preliminar head in the margin of the more flexible material, said rounded corner extending from the plane of the support to a point above said plane, a crease].- having its extremity located to engage the work in proximity to the member. and means for increasing the bend to form a fold and for pressing the fold.

7. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of ma v terial of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material being superposed on the less flexible material and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed, a com bined edge gage and bendin member having a substantially plane face for guiding the work and a rounded corner for forming preliminary bend in the margin of the more flexible material, a creaser having its extremity located to engage the work in proximity to the member, means whereby the member may be adjusted transversely of the direction of feed movement of the work, and means for increasing the bend to form a fold and for pressing the fold.

8. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material being superposed on the less flexible material and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having, in combination, a support over which the work is fed, a com-- bined edge and bending member for guiding the work and forming a preliminary bend in the margin of the more flexible material, a creaser having its extremity located to engage the work in proximity to the member, means whereby the creaser may be adjusted toward and from the member in a path substantially parallel to the plane of the support, and means for increasing the bend to form a fold and for pressing the fold.

9. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material being superposed on the less flexible material and having its margin projecting beyond the edge of the less flexi' ble material, having, in combination, a sup port over which the work is fed, combined edge gage and bending member for guiding the work and forming a preliminary bend in the margin of the more flexible material, a creaser mounted on the member, means for adjusting the creaser with respect to the member, a folder, and means for pressing the fold.

10. In Folding machine, a combined edge gage and bending member, a creaser pivotally mounted on the member, and means whereby the position of the pivot may be adjusted.

11. In a folding machine, a combined edge gage and bending member, a pivotal support and a stop carried by the member, a creaser pivoted on the support, and yielding means for holding one portion of the creaser against the support and another portion of the creaser against the stop.

12. A machine for operating upon a piece of work w iich comprises pieces of" material of different degrees of flexibility, having in combination, a support for the work, a gage having a substantially plane face for guiding the work in accordance with the outline of the edge of the less flexible terial, a creaser located opposite the gage, a folder independent of the gage, and m ans including the creaser, folder, and gage for folding the margin of the more flexible material and for pressing the fold.

13. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of diflerent degrees of flexibility, having in combination, a support for the work, a-gage for guiding the work in accordance with the outline of the edge of the less flexible material, a creaser mounted upon the gage, and means including the gage and creaser for folding the margin of the more flexible material and for pressing the fold.

14,-. A machine for operating upon a piece of work which comprises pieces of material of different degrees of flexibility, the more flexible material having its margin extend-- ing beyond the edge of the less flexible material, having in combination, a support over which the work is fed, a combined edge gage and bending member for guiding the work and forming a preliminary bend in the margin of the more flexible material, a combined presser foot and creaser having its operative end shaped both to press downwardly upon the extreme margin of the less flexible material and to hold the upwardly bent margin of the more flexible against the bending member at the level of the upper surface of the less flexible material, the operative end of the presser foot being located opposite the bending member and held from movement in the direction of feed, and means for pressing the upwardly bent portion of the more flexible material over upon the margin of the less flexible material.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

CHARLES H. JONES. 

